Thanksgiving Turkey with Holiday Rub

Ingredients

Holiday Rub:

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons dried rosemary

1 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Turkey:

1 (14 to 16 pound) turkey, rinsed, patted dry inside and out (neck, heart, and gizzard reserved

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

Gravy:

Turkey or chicken stock

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 shallots, finely chopped

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup sour cream

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Mix all of the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl.
  3. Put the turkey on a rack in a roasting pan.
  4. Generously season the turkey cavity with salt and pepper, to taste. Brush the turkey with olive oil, and rub it with the seasoning mixture. Tie the legs together loosely to hold their shape, and tuck the wing tips under.
  5. Roast the turkey until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thigh registers 165 to 170 degrees F, about 3 hours.
  6. Transfer the turkey to a platter. Tent it very loosely with foil, and let it rest for at least 30 minutes (the internal temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees). Reserve the juices in the pan.
  7. Gravy: Scrape the juices and browned bits from the roasting pan into a large glass measuring cup. Spoon off the fat, reserving 2 tablespoons. If necessary, add enough stock to the juices to measure 1 2/3 cups.
  8. Heat the reserved 2 tablespoons fat in a heavy, large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, and shallots, and saute for 2 minutes. Add the flour and whisk until golden, about 4 minutes. Add the degreased pan juices, and the 2 cups stock. Bring to a boil, whisking until smooth. Reduce the heat and simmer until the gravy is reduced to the desired consistency, about 4 minutes. Whisk in the lemon juice, and the sour cream. Season the gravy with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the gravy into a serving bowl. Carve the turkey and arrange it on a serving platter. Serve the turkey with the gravy.

Instant Hot Chocolate

Ingredients

  • 4 Tablespoons of Cocoa Powder
  • 2 Packets of Powdered Milk (single serving size)
  • 8 Tablespoons of Sugar ( white, and raw sugars work great)
  • 1/4 Teaspoon corn starch (optional)

Instructions

  • Wisk all the ingredients into a bowl together.
  • Keep in an air-tight container indefinitely. 

To make a mug of hot chocolate :

  • Add 3 tablespoons of the Hot Chocolate mix to 8 oz milk or water into a saucepan and stir.
  • Simmer on medium/low heat for 2 minutes.

 

Peruvian Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

  • 4 LBS (pounds) of Fresh Chicken ( boneless thighs work the best)
  • 1/4 Cup of White Vinegar
  • 3 Tablespoon White Whine
  • 3 Tablespoon Canola Oil
  • 2 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
  • 2 Tablespoon Smokes Sweet Paprika
  • 2 Tablespoon Cumin
  • 2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Mix the vinegar, wine, oil and spices in a small mixing bowl. Make into a paste.
  • Place chicken thighs in a sealable plastic bag. Add marinade. Seal bag, making sure the marinade completely covers the chicken. Refrigerate chicken for at least twelve hours but no more than 24 hours.
  • Line a 4×9 pirex dish with aluminum foil .
  • Place chicken in glass pirex 4X9 pan. Do not cover.
  • Cook for 30 minutes or until the temperature reaches 165°F or the juices run clear.
  • *Marinate 12 to 24 hours

Simply Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients

  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup white sugar 
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup milk
  • ½ cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Directions

Instructions Checklist

  • Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a bowl.
  • Whisk milk, pumpkin, egg, and oil together in a bowl.
  • Pour milk mixture into flour mixture and stir until just moistened. (COOKS NOTE) Batter will be slightly lumpy.
  • Heat a lightly oiled griddle over medium-high heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  • Drop batter by large spoonfuls onto the griddle and cook until bubbles form and the edges are dry, 1 to 3 minutes.
  • Flip and cook until browned on the other side, about 1 minute more.
  • Repeat with remaining batter.

Olive Garden Minestrone Soup (Vegetarian)

Ingredients

2  Quart Containers of Vegetable Stock  …. I use Swanson vegetable stock.

2   14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes 

4 cloves diced garlic

1 cup diced onions 

2 cups diced of each ……. celery, carrots, zucchini, Italian green beans.

 1 1/2  TBSP of Italian Seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

Can of DRAINED kidney or navy beans.

I cup of fresh washed spinach ( chopped)  (optional)


Put first 6 ingredients in the crockpot. Cook until all vegetables are cooked. Add 1 1/2 cups of tiny shell pasta and cook until done. If you’re going to use the canned (drained/rinsed) beans add them with the pasta.  In the last 10 minutes add 2 cups of chopped spinach and stir it in. It cooks almost immediately.  Eat with a crusty french bread. 

Copycat Nacho Doritos® Low Sodium Seasoning Mix

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 tsp Kosher sea salt (optional)
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp Ground paprika
  • 1 tsp Chili powder

Directions:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
  2. Store in a small air-tight container for up to 3 months.

Garlic Parmesan Pasta

Ingredients

  • 120ml (1/2 cup) no salt butter
  • 2 tsp. dried basil, crushed
  • 2 tsp. lemon juice
  • 1 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
  • 3/4 tsp. seasoned salt
  • 8 oz. fettuccine or angel hair pasta (cooked and drained)
  • 1 1/2 cups broccoli floweretts (cooked tender-crisp)
  • 3 Tbsp. walnuts (chopped )
  • fresh, grated Parmesan cheese*
  • warning , most pre-grated cheese is high in salt.

Procedure

  1. Melt the butter in a large skillet.
  2. Add the basil, lemon juice, garlic powder and seasoned salt, blending well.
  3. Add the fettuccine, broccoli, walnuts.
  4. Blend well and toss to coat the fettuccine.
  5. After tossing, add fresh grated Parmesan cheese to top off the dish.

This article uses material from the Wikibooks article “Cookbook:Garlic Parmesan Pasta“, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Guacamole

Ingredients

  • 4 avocados
  • 2 tablespoons of pico de gallo
  • Juice of 1/2 lime
  • 2 chopped Jalapeño or 2 tablespoons of crushed red pepper or 1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon of salt (optional)
  • 4 teaspoons of olive oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon of chopped garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
  • 1 minced jalapeño OR 2 minced serrano chiles OR 2 tablespoon minced of any chile pepper like (adjust for spiciness) (optional)

Procedure

  1. Pit the avocados.
  2. Score avocado without cutting through the skin.
  3. Scoop out one avocado with a large spoon and place in mixing bowl.
  4. Add the lime juice and stir to evenly coat the avocados.
  5. Stir in the Pico de Gallo, garlic, oil, jalapeño**, salt*, red pepper, and black pepper, mashing and tossing the avocado pieces until thoroughly mixed.
  6. Then scoop out the other avocados and gently mix and toss in the larger pieces.
  7. The guacamole is the right consistency when more large pieces than mashed parts remain.
  8. Garnish with a sprig of cilantro.

This article uses material from the Wikibooks article “Cookbook:Guacamole“, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Spiced Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • 1 cup onion, chopped
  • 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 cup peeled and cubed sweet potato
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
  • 2 14-oz cans of nonfat and low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable stock
  • 1 15-oz can of pumpkin
  • 1 cup 1% milk
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice

Procedure

  1. Melt butter in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute onion for 3-4 minutes then add flour, curry, cumin and nutmeg and saute for 1 minute.
  2. Add sweet potato, salt, chicken broth and pumpkin and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered for about 20-25 minutes or until sweet potatoes are cooked through and softened. Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes to cool.
  3. Place half of the pumpkin mixture in a blender and process until smooth. Using a strainer, pour soup back into pan. Repeat with rest of soup.
  4. Raise heat to medium then stir in milk and cook for 5 minutes or until soup is heated through.
  5. Remove from heat and add lime juice.

This article uses material from the Wikibooks article “Cookbook:Spiced Pumpkin Soup“, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.